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Medical student knowledge levels and performance in doing HIV risk assessment
L J Farquhar1, T Stein, D Wagner
1College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, E. Lansing 48864, USA.
Summary
Medical students trained in sexual history-taking improved skills, but consistently applying this knowledge without explicit instruction, especially for HIV risk assessment, remains a challenge. Direct participation did not significantly enhance performance over observation.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Public Health
- Infectious Disease Prevention
Background:
- Effective sexual history-taking is crucial for patient care and disease prevention, particularly for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
- Medical students require targeted training to develop proficiency in conducting sensitive patient interviews and risk assessments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and assess a training program for medical students focused on sexual history-taking and HIV risk assessment.
- To evaluate if students autonomously conduct sexual histories when HIV risk factors are present, even without direct instruction.
- To compare the impact of active participation versus observation in sexual history interviews on student performance.
Main Methods:
- A training program was implemented for medical students.
- Student performance in sexual history-taking was evaluated in the semester following instruction.
- Performance was measured through knowledge examinations and practical assessment of sexual history interviews.
- A comparison was made between students who actively conducted interviews and those who only observed.
Main Results:
- Students demonstrated excellent performance when explicitly instructed to take a sexual history.
- Performance was inconsistent when students were not directed to take a history, despite identified HIV risk factors.
- Student attitudes towards the importance of sexual history-taking became highly positive post-training.
- No significant improvement in examination performance was observed for students who conducted interviews compared to those who observed.
Conclusions:
- The training program effectively improved medical students' knowledge and skills in sexual history-taking and HIV risk assessment.
- Further strategies are needed to ensure consistent application of these skills in clinical practice, particularly in the absence of explicit prompts.
- Active participation in sexual history interviews did not yield superior performance outcomes compared to observational learning in this study.